DOCSLIB.ORG

Theological Reflection on Accompaniment

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Theological Reflection on Accompaniment THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THEOLOGICALACCOMPANIMENT ECUMENICAL ACCOMPANIMENT REFLECTIONPROGRAMME IN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL ON ACCOMPANIMENT 1 WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON ACCOMPANIMENT 2 THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON ACCOMPANIMENT A workshop organised by the ECUMENICAL ACCOMPANIMENT PROGRAMME IN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL OF THE COMMISSION OF THE CHURCHES ON INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS in partnership with Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches Geneva, 28-30 September 2005 WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES 3 THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON ACCOMPANIMENT “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me”. (Psalm 23: 4) EAPPI Commission of the Churches on International Affairs World Council of Churches 150 Route de Ferney P.O. Box 2100 CH-1211 Geneva 2 Switzerland Tel: (+41-22) 791.6113 Fax: (+41-22) 791.6406 Email: [email protected] 4 Website: www.eappi.org THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON ACCOMPANIMENT 5 THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON ACCOMPANIMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword 4 By Rifat Odeh Kassis Introductory presentation of EAPPI Theological Consultation 6 By Peter Weiderud Theological reflection and testimony 17 By Bishop Dr. Munib Younan Report of the Theological Consultation 30 by Deenabadhu Manchala Personal Testimonies 51 of Ecumenical Accompaniers Testimonies of the Accompanied 133 6 FOREWORD BY RIFAT ODEH KASSIS International Programme Coordinator and Project Manager EAPPI stands for Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. It is an initiative of the World Council of Churches (WCC) under the Ecumenical Campaign to End the Illegal Occupation of Palestine: Support a Just Peace in the Middle East. Its mission is to accompany Palestinians and Israelis in their non-violent actions and concerted advocacy efforts to end the occupation. Participants of the programme monitor and report violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, support acts of non-violent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli peace activists, offer protection through non-violent presence, engage in public policy advocacy and, in general, stand in solidarity with the churches and all those struggling against the occupation. In September 2005, over 30 participants from different parts of the world, consisting of former Ecumenical Accompaniers, partners from Palestine and Israel, EAPPI national co-ordinators and WCC staff, came together to reflect on their experiences with EAPPI and what it meant to them spiritually. The seminar, which was organised by the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), a body of the WCC, in co-operation with the Faith and Order department, aimed at discussing the theological and spiritual insights gained so far in order to sharpen the vision of the programme. 7 THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON ACCOMPANIMENT EAPPI is a special programme, with a special history. It all began with a cry for help. Some years ago, the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem launched an appeal to not only the WCC, but also the UN, governments, politicians and the people of the world to do something to end the all-encompassing Israeli occupation of Palestinian people and lands. This cry, unfortunately, did not evoke a response from politicians and decision makers but touched the hearts and minds of churches, church agencies, NGOs and civil society. Civilians around the world responded and continue to respond to this cry. Civilians are the ones who are ready to go to the Occupied Palestinian Territories and plant themselves firmly at checkpoints, wall gates, roadblocks and other vulnerable places to show solidarity and provide symbolic protection with their presence. Civilians are the ones who are ready to stand in solidarity with Israeli peace activists who are struggling, just like Palestinians, to end the occupation, because they believe it is not only strangling the Palestinian people but is also corrupting and damaging their own society. Civilians are the ones ready to try to prevent violence and lessen the suffering of people, to try to make the Israeli army feel accountable by their presence as accompaniers. Civilians are the ones ready to try to stop settler aggression and to listen to the pain, hopes and dreams of Palestinians. These are unarmed civilians equipped only with their faith, will and aspiration for a better world; unarmed civilians who are ready to put themselves at risk to show the victims and the oppressed that they are not alone and that the whole world is watching. In short, civilians are the ones to don the characteristic EAPPI jacket and intensively engage with the situation on the ground for a period of three months. Parliamentarians or policy-makers, however, who are in a better position to really make a structural change, and hence would benefit from such an experience, have not been participating 8 in EAPPI. Accompaniers try to address this gap with advocacy work, aimed at changing the attitudes and policies of these parliamentarians and policy-makers. The three-day seminar provided a space to hear the voice of these concerned and determined civilians, as well as those who host and welcome them and coordinate their stay in Palestine and Israel. This booklet documents the highlights and outcomes of this seminar. In it you will find an introduction and background to the EAPPI written by Peter Weiderud, Director of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the WCC, a theological intervention written by Bishop Munib Younan, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and the seminar report, edited by Deenabandhu Manchala of the WCC Faith and Order department. You will also find testimonies written by twenty- one previous Ecumenical Accompaniers, as well as testimonies from the ‘accompanied’; our partners and friends, Rima Tarazi, Angela Godfrey-Goldstein, Nidal Abu Zuluf and Shareef Omar Khaled. Thank you to those who participated in the seminar, and to those of you who have contributed to this collection. We sincerely hope that it offers a valuable incite into the spiritual and theological perspectives of those who have stood side by side one another in the search for a just and lasting peace. 9 THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON ACCOMPANIMENT INTRODUCTORY PRESENTATION OF EAPPI THEOLOGICAL CONSULTATION BY PETER WEIDERUD CCIA Director, WCC Dear Bishop, dear sisters and brothers, dear friends and colleagues. Welcome to Geneva and to a WCC consultation! I am grateful for the opportunity to be with you this evening and to participate in the dialogue on how to deepen and further our theological reflection on accompaniment. I sincerely regret that my duties will not allow me to be with you for the whole period but I am very much looking forward to reading all your testimonies and hearing the deliberations of this consultation and see how they will shape the EAPPI. We are in an intensive period at the WCC as we prepare for WCC’s next General Assembly in February 2006, where our members will celebrate the mid term of the Decade to Overcome Violence, take stock of its learnings so far, prepare for the next 5 years of the decade, and of course review the WCC’s agenda for the next 8 years. In this context, the EAPPI has a lot to offer to the churches in terms of challenge and responsibility. 10 The CCIA developed the Ecumenical Accompaniment programme in Palestine and Israel with some very committed ecumenical partners and member churches based on its longstanding experience in human rights work as well as the theological basis developed by the churches for WCC’s work on human rights since 1948. The EAPPI was developed in a unique and dynamic way as a response of the WCC and its members and ecumenical partners who came together committed to show solidarity with the victims of human rights violations, the occupied and all those who oppose unjust structures and work for the end of the occupation of Palestine. The EAPPI was developed out of an intensive consultation process with partners and members from 2001 to 2002 but it used a plethora of CCIA’s rich history of work against human rights violations, as well as a deep theological basis for Christian responsibility in this work since 1937. With all partners WCC accepted to take a risk to launch the programme already in August 2002 even though the programme was not fully established or even properly funded, only to respond in a timely manner to a human rights crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The understanding was that WCC with a group of national coordinators from participating countries and the local churches would continue the reflection process while deeply involved in action. The clarity of language used, the methodology and the reflection process as well as the funds and partners that evolved from 2001 to early 2002 demonstrate that when the churches come together; when the WCC responds at the right time and facilitates a process, we can be prophetic and dynamic. 11 THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON ACCOMPANIMENT However, as we had said then when we took the risk to respond to the call of our member churches, CCIA needs to continue to review, clarify and perfect - among other things - the EAPPI’s management structures, programmatic agenda and its basis and understanding. Almost three years later, while we are still in the midst of ‘doing’; I am happy that we are able to take quiet time for joint reflection to guide our common action, deepen our existing theological reflection and further our understanding. In this regard I welcome the valuable cooperation of our colleagues in the WCC Faith and Order department and thank the EAPPI staff for taking this initiative and each and every one of you for making the time to be here with us for this consultation.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mission History and Partners Recommended Reading
    Global Ministries—UCC & Disciples Middle East and Europe Mission History and Partners Recommended Reading Christianity: A History in the Middle East, edited by Rev. Habib Badr—This large tome is a collection of articles about the history of Christianity and churches of the countries of the Middle East. Comprehensive and thorough, this book was undertaken by the Middle East Council of Churches and was first available in Arabic. This translation will be of interest to any student of Middle Eastern Christianity. The Arab Christian: A History in the Middle East , by Kenneth Cragg—This book was published in the 1990’s but is indispensible in gaining an historical and contemporary perspective on Arab Christianity. It is a thoroughly researched book, and is not light reading! Cragg lived and served in the Middle East; he is and Anglican bishop. He has studies and written about Christian- Muslim relations extensively, and knows the Christian community well. He discusses history, sociology, the arts, and Christian- Muslim relations in this book. In some places, he over-simplifies my referring to an “Arab mind” or a “Muslim mind,” an approach which is rebuked by Edward Said in Orientalism , but Cragg’s study is quite valuable nonetheless. Jesus Wars , by Philip Jenkins—This book will offer much insight into the Orthodox traditions as it explores theological and Christological debates of the early church. Focusing on the ecumenical councils of the fourth century, the reader will have a better understanding of the movements within, and resultant splits of, the church. Not limited to theological debate, these divisions had to do with political and personal power as well.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Divestment? Why Now?
    Published by Americans for The Link Middle East Understanding, Inc. Volume 39, Issue 3 Link Archives: www.ameu.org August-September 2006 Why Divestment? And Why Now? By David Wildman “The crisis was intensifying in the country, as more and more people were killed, maimed and imprisoned, as one town after another revolted against the apartheid regime, as the people refused to be oppressed or to co-operate with oppressors, facing death by the day… As the apartheid army moved into the towns to rule by the barrel of the gun, a number of [people of faith sought] to determine what response by the Church and by all Christians would be most appropriate.” —Continued on Page 2 The Link Page 2 AMEU Board —Continued from Page 1 of Directors Jane Adas (Vice President) Mapping Apartheid Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr. In its June 22, 2006 edition, The My friend showed me a map in He- Atwater, Bradley & Partners, Inc. New York Times reported that the brew that the Israeli military had given Elizabeth D. Barlow Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), at its him. It outlined the planned route that the general assembly in Birmingham, Ala., hafrada, or separation, barrier would take Edward Dillon voted to back off from a 2004 decision near his small village of Aboud on the John Goelet it had made to divest from companies West Bank. His family has 500 olive trees that profit from Israel’s involvement in Richard Hobson, Jr. the Palestinian territories. which have been in the family for centu- Vice President, Olayan America Corp.
    [Show full text]
  • We Hear Your Call
    Ecclesio Collection Ecclesio We Hear Your Call The North American Response to Kairos Palestine a collection of articles reporting on how North American churches have responded to the call for solidarity from Palestinian Christians contents Kairos USA: a movement emerges as a response to Kairos Palestine - page 3 Pauline Coffman Kairos Time: A U.S. Call to Action - page 4 Mark Braverman An Awakening: American Churches embrace targeted economic actions in response to Kairos Palestine - page 7 Susanne Hoder Response to Kairos Palestine: “The Letter of 15” and the use of U.S. military aid by Israel in Palestine - page 10 Katherine Cunningham The Canadian response to Kairos Palestine - page 13 Robert Assaly from the editor This collection of articles was published by Ecclesio in a week of reporting on the North American response to Kairos Palestine, a confession of faith written by Palestinian Christians in 2009, which called for solidarity in their hour of need. The document is translated from its original Arabic into twenty languages, and is entitled A Moment of Truth: A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering. With all the heads of churches in the Holy Land signing this confession of faith, it is a unique call to action to the Christian community around the world. These articles report on some of the actions taken by U.S. denominations in response to this call. The final article reports on the Canadian response. They appear here in the order they were published in May 2013. As a Presbyterian Elder living in New York City, I was glad and proud to see our General Assembly receive Kairos Palestine for study in 2010, even though some tried to say its call for non-violent economic action should be considered violent Israel’s Separation Wall because of the long, violent Christian history against Jews.
    [Show full text]
  • Palestinian Christians and the Old Testament
    1 The Elements of Palestinian Christian Hermeneutics of the Old Testament The reader will at once recognize the inherent complexity of the title, “Palestinian Christian Hermeneutics of the Old Testament.” It contains at least four aspects. The first, and the foundation of the present discussion, is the question of hermeneutics, or as more generally described, the “art of understanding.”1 The second facet of the title qualifies the task of hermeneutics and limits its scope to the understanding of a given text, namely, in this case, one in the Old Testament. This is further qualified by the interpretation of the Old Testament from a Christian perspective, and if that were not multi- faceted enough, the Christian hermeneutics of the Old Testament under consideration here is modified by yet another factor, namely, 1. Hermeneutics can have two dimensions. “Used in a narrower sense, hermeneutics can refer to the method and techniques used to interpret a text. In a wider sense, it can refer to the conditions which make understanding possible and even to the process of understanding as a whole.” Bernard C. Lategan, “Hermeneutics,” 3: 149. ABD 3 PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS AND THE OLD TESTAMENT a class of individuals and communities commonly identified as “Arab Christians” who live in Israel and Palestine. As the title states, this chapter examines Palestinian Christian hermeneutics of the Old Testament (PCHOT). Each of the aforementioned components has a significant bearing on PCHOT and thereby warrants a brief explanation. As intimated above, hermeneutics
    [Show full text]
  • The Presbyterian Church and Zionism Unsettled: Its Antecedents, and Its Antisemitic Legacy
    religions Article The Presbyterian Church and Zionism Unsettled: Its Antecedents, and Its Antisemitic Legacy Cary Nelson English Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; [email protected] Received: 30 May 2019; Accepted: 20 June 2019; Published: 22 June 2019 Abstract: The new millennium has seen increased hostility to Israel among many progressive constituencies, including several mainline Protestant churches. The evangelical community in the US remains steadfastly Zionist, so overall support for financial aid to Israel remain secure. But the cultural impact of accusations that Israel is a settler colonialist or apartheid regime are nonetheless serious; they are proving sufficient to make support for the Jewish state a political issue for the first time in many decades. Despite a general movement in emphasis from theology to politics in church debate, there remain theological issues at the center of church discussion. The Protestant church with the longest running and most well-funded anti-Zionist constituency is the Presbyterian church in the US. In the last decade, its Israel/Palestine Mission Network (IPMN) has produced several increasingly anti-Zionist books designed to propel divestment resolutions in the church’s annual meeting. The most widely debated of these was 2014’s Zionism Unsettled: A Congregational Study Guide. This essay mounts a detailed analysis and critique of the book which documents the IPMN’s steady movement toward antisemitic positions. Among the theological issues underlying debate in Protestant denominations are the status of the divine covenant with the Jewish people, the role that the gift of land has as part of that covenant, and the nature of the characterization of the Jews as a “chosen people”.
    [Show full text]
  • Palestinian Christians
    Palestinian Christians Palestinian Christians are the descendants of the original indigenous Christians who first believed in Jesus Christ. They are the descendants of the disciples of Jesus Christ & the descendants of other Jews, Philistines, Arabs, Aramaeans/Eremites, Canaanites, Greeks, Romans, Persians & Samaritans... who accepted the Messiah when He was with them in the flesh. Today, they live in Nazareth, Bethlehem, Gaza, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, Jenin, Taybeh, Birzeit, Jifna, al-Bireh, Zababdeh, Tel Aviv, Tubas, Azzun, Aboud, Tiberias, Sakhnin, Shefa-'Amr, Galilee, Jish, Amman, & other places in the Biblical Palestine & Jordan, in addition to the exile. They are Arab Christian Believers of Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic (eastern & western rites), Protestant, Evangelical & other denominations, who have ethnic or family origins in Palestine. In both the local dialect of Palestinian Arabic and in classical or modern standard Arabic, Christians are called Nasrani (a derivative of the Arabic word for Nazareth, al-Nasira) or Masihi (a derivative of Arabic word Masih, meaning "Messiah"). Christians comprise less than 4% of Palestinian Arabs living within the borders of former Mandate Palestine today (around 4% in the West Bank, a negligible percentage in Gaza, and nearly 10% of Israeli Arabs). According to official British Mandate estimates, Mandate Palestine’s Christian population varied between 9.5% (1922) and 7.9% (1946) of the total population. Demographics and Denominations Today, the majority of Palestinian Christians live abroad. In 2005, it was estimated that the Christian population of the Palestinian territories was between 40,000 and 90,000 people, or 2.1 to 3.4% of the population.
    [Show full text]
  • Let Me Distill What Rosemary Ruether Presents As the Critical Features Of
    A Study of the Rev. Naim Ateek’s Theological Writings on the Israel-Palestinian Conflict The faithful Jew and Christian regularly turn to the texts of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament for wisdom, guidance, and inspiration in order to understand and respond to the world around them. Verses from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament are regularly employed in the discussion of the Israel-Palestine conflict. While the inspiration for justice and righteousness on behalf of all who are suffering is a hallmark of both scriptures, the present circumstance in the Land of Israel poses unique degrees of difficulty for the application of Biblical text. The prophets of old speak eternal and absolute ideas, in the circumstance and the vernacular of their time. God speaks. Men and women hear. The message is precise. The challenge of course is to extract the idea and to apply it to the contemporary circumstance. The contemporary State of Israel is not ancient Israel of the First Temple period, 11th century BCE to 6th century BCE, nor Judea of the first century. Though there are important historical, national, familial, faith, and communal continuities. In the absence of an explicit word of God to a prophet in the form of prophecy we can never be secure in our sense that we are assessing the contemporary situation as the ancient scriptural authors, and, more importantly, God, in Whose name they speak, would have us do. If one applies to the State of Israel biblical oracles addressed to the ancient people Israel, one has to be careful to do so with a sense of symmetry.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded License
    Exchange 49 (2020) 257-277 brill.com/exch The Revival of Palestinian Christianity Developments in Palestinian Theology Elizabeth S. Marteijn PhD Candidate, School of Divinity, Centre for the Study of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK [email protected] Abstract Palestinian Christians are a minority of approximately 1 or 2% in a context marked by conflict, expulsions, and ongoing emigration. Despite all this, Palestinian Christians have made a significant contribution to society in the spheres of politics, the arts, sci- ence, and social welfare. Moreover, from the 1980s onwards, this Palestinian context of struggle has also been the source for the emergence of a socially and politically committed contextual theology. This article analyses the development of Palestinian contextual theology by examining theological publications by Palestinian theologians. It identifies liberation, reconciliation, witness, ecumenism, and interfaith-dialogue as some of the dominant theological themes. What unites these publications is a theological engagement with the Palestinian Christian identity in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Keywords contextual theology – Israeli-Palestinian conflict – Kairos theology – Palestinian Christianity – Palestinian theology – public theology 1 An Arab Christian Awakening Palestinian Christians feel deeply rooted in Palestinian society. They under- stand themselves as part of the Palestinian community and actively contribute to its flourishing. This article aims to outline how Palestinian Christians have embraced their vocation, in the words of Emeritus Patriarch Michel Sabbah, to © Elizabeth S. Marteijn, 2020 | doi:10.1163/1572543X-12341569 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0Downloaded license. from Brill.com09/30/2021 04:35:54PM via free access 258 Marteijn be “in the service of society.”1 Michel Sabbah, born in Nazareth in 1933, was con- secrated on 6th January, 1988, by Pope John Paul II as the first Palestinian-born Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem.
    [Show full text]
  • Journeying with Real People Towards the Real Bethlehem Could Transform Christmas for You and for Your Friends
    Journeying with real people towards the real Bethlehem could transform Christmas for you and for your friends. This is a precious book - precious to keep and precious to give away. Very Rev Dr A. Mclellan, Convener, World Mission Council, Church of Scotland. This book takes the traditional Advent themes of faith, hope and love and looks at them through the lens of ordinary Palestinians, who live in the land we call holy. We hope that it will both inspire you and challenge you as you make the journey towards Christmas. Maggie Lunan, Co-Chair, nativity. The traditional themes of Advent - light out of darkness, hope out of despair, the struggle to give birth to new life in the midst of difficulty and suffering - are here given a reality that is both vigorous and challenging. These reflections from people living on a knife-edge enlarge our vision. Kathy Galloway, Head of Christian Aid Scotland. World Mission Council 121 George Street Edinburgh, EH2 4YR © COS257 10/12 Scottish National Charity Number: SC0 11353 nativity supports Kairos Palestine and is involved dignity. For these reasons we support the rights of all in this resource because we want to encourage people Palestinians and Israelis to live in safety and security, to reappraise Christmas and look at all the celebrations and believe their rights are indivisible from each other. around Christmas with fresh eyes, to challenge the sentimentality of it and offer alternatives that incorporate Christian Aid welcomes the Kairos document as an ‘Just God’. As part of the bigger picture this resource important way of engaging the churches in the UK and offers the opportunity to consider the reality both of Ireland with peace and justice in Israel and the occupied Christmas past and Christmas present in Bethlehem.
    [Show full text]
  • Sabeel's Theology of Contempt
    Sabeel’s Theology of Contempt Injecting Anti-Israel and Antisemitic Activism into Churches June 2015 This report was produced by BDS in the Pews A Project of NGO Monitor NGO Monitor's mission is to provide information and analysis, promote accountability, and support discussion on the reports and activities of NGOs claiming to advance human rights and humanitarian agendas. 1 Ben-Maimon Blvd. Jerusalem 92262, Israel Tel: +972-2-566-1020 Fax: +972-77-511-7030 [email protected] www.ngo-monitor.org (ע"ר The Amutah for NGO Responsibility (R.A. #580465508 © 2015 NGO Monitor. All rights reserved. Organization in Special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council since 2013 Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 1 Key Findings ............................................................................................................................... 2 Conclusions and Recommendations .......................................................................................... 3 Background ................................................................................................................................ 5 Rationalization of Terrorism and Advancement of Antisemitism .............................................. 7 Budget, Transparency and Collaboration ................................................................................. 11 Funding ...................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Anglicans in Palestine/Israel and Christian–Muslim Relations
    ATR/96.1 Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Anglicans in Palestine/Israel and Christian–Muslim Relations Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad* This study provides an overview of the current Christian–Muslim relations in Palestine/Israel and the efforts to establish dialogue between the two communities under the Israeli occupation. It takes note of the catastrophic impact of the establishment of the State of Israel on Christians in the Holy Land, their forced expul- sion, Israeli anti-goyem policies, and the presence and theological teachings of the Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, as well as the impact of Western Christian support for Israel on the dialogue. The “Arab Spring” rolled eastward from Tunisia and toppled sev- eral autocratic dictatorial regimes, leaving in its wake turbulence and turmoil and in its aftermath what appears to be an increasingly vul- nerable indigenous Christian population. Once again the Christians of the Middle East found themselves under scrutiny, caught between discredited regimes that had provided a modicum of security and sta- bility in their lives and new orders struggling to get established with no compass to reveal future direction. As a consequence, insecurity, apprehension, and fear of an unpredictable future have intensified the emigration of Christians to Australasia, Canada, Europe, and the United States, further depleting the number of Christians in the Arab world. The emigration of Christians from the Arab world to the West is not a new phenomenon. It has its roots in the nineteenth century with the intrusion of foreign powers into the Ottoman Empire and the scramble by the various European nations to claim local Christian com- munities as protégés to be protected and/or manipulated.
    [Show full text]
  • Naim Stifan Ateek a Palestinian Theology of Liberation: the Bible, Justice, and the Palestinian Conflict
    SCJR 14, no. 1 (2019): 1-3 Naim Stifan Ateek A Palestinian Theology of Liberation: The Bible, Justice, and the Palestinian Conflict (Maryknoll: Orbis Press, 2017), paperback, xix + 172 pages TODD WALATKA [email protected] University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 Naim Ateek is founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center and an influential figure in the field of Palestinian liberation theology. A Palestin- ian Theology of Liberation offers a synthesis of themes in many of his previous works as well as a more detailed demonstration of his reading of Scripture. It ex- presses his passionate and prophetic plea for the oppressed Palestinian people in the Holy Land against dangerous and destructive religious ideologies. It repre- sents a committed and uncompromising defense of non-violence as the only way forward toward genuine peace. Finally, it condemns systemic injustice and the failure of so many Christians throughout the world to attend to the suffering of the Palestinian people. However, it is also structurally shaped by a supersessionist theological vision. Ateek’s first chapter articulates the fundamentally anti-colonialist and anti- Zionist perspective of Palestinian liberation theology. Chapter two offers an his- torical account of the Palestinian people, and chapter three describes the 1948 Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) as a human trauma, as an attempt to undermine Palestinian cultural and social identity, and as a challenge to faith, particularly in the face of biblical defenses of Zionism. Chapter four offers his analysis of im- portant historical events of the last seventy years, including the Holocaust, the Six Day War, and the first Intifada.
    [Show full text]